Ready Player One Movie: What We Know So Far

Art3mis (Olivia Cooke)

Wade Watts is far from alone on his journey in Ready Player One. He has a number of friends, associates, and well-wishers who lend him a helping hand along the way, but none are as important as Art3mis. The OASIS avatar alter ego of Samantha Evelyn Cook, Art3mis is another famous gunter, one that Wade also happens to have a major cyber crush on, which complicates things as they're in direct competition. Throughout the course of the narrative of Ready Player One, Art3mis is by turns a rival, a partner in crime, an ally, and a love interest for Wade. Again, due to the online nature of much of their relationship---Art3mis is from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, while Wade starts out in Oklahoma City---it will be interesting to see how their relationship develops and is portrayed in the Ready Player One movie.

One of the things that was revealed about the plot of the film a few months ago is that Wade and Samantha will actually meet in real life during the course of the movie. This was quite a surprise, as the two characters don't meet up outside of the OASIS in the book until the very end of the story. So, unless the photo that was released of the two together is a dream sequence or from the last few shots in the movie, it seems that Spielberg and the writers have decided to have them spend more time with each other in the depressing real world of Ready Player One.

As Art3mis is one of the key characters in the Ready Player One book, it's a rather important role to cast in the film. And, as with casting Wade, Steven Spielberg and company went with another young up and comer, British actress Olivia Cooke---who was actually cast before Tye Sheridan was cast as Wade. Similar to her co-star, Cooke has put together a stellar list of acting credits at just 25-years-old. Getting her start on British television in 2012 with Blackout and The Secret of Crikey Hall (and a One Direction video), Cooke is probably best known for her run on the Psycho prequel series, Bates Motel, which wrapped up in 2017. She also recently starred in the low-budget horror flick Ouija, the well-received indie dramedy Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, and has a few other films on the way in 2018.